If you could find the sparks in your size I would definitely do that. Could you try calling them and seeing if they know which of their dealers ordered small sizes and might still have some left? vibram soles would be great, and it seems like these are stiffer then most other boots out there. I would definitely try them on though, the biggest difference in men and women’s boot is where and how stiff the back of the boot is when it hits your calf. Women’s calves sit a lot lower, so the boot could ride high over your calf and be uncomfortable. Something to think about if you’re used to women’s boots.

I’ve ridden burton boots for a long time because they fit my feet so well. I have supremes right now, which are their stiffest women’s boot I think. Their high end men’s boot comes with a vibram sole, so maybe someday they will do this with their women’s boots. I definitely could go stiffer for skinning, I hate trying to hold an edge when the boot feels like its bending away from the hill. But for fit and stiffness the supreme is the best boot I have found so far. I haven’t used crampons very often so I can’t say much about this. But there’s not a little lip for the crampon to rest on on the heel or toe. It’s been sloppy when I have used them, which could have been user error too.
I’ve heard good things about Solomon boots for stiffness. I personally haven’t tried them because they seem narrow and I have wide feet.

Perfect timing on this topic, as I am debating about searching for new boots myself.

I’ve ridden two versions of Burton Supreme until I packed them out. They were pretty decent, a little on the soft side, but I liked the speed zone lacing for top and bottom. I was happy with the quality but suffered from heel lift even with the addition of the j bars. The Q used to be Burton’s stiffest boot but was hard to find and I think aren’t made anymore.

For the two seasons I’ve been riding Salomon Optima which are stiff, and best for me, have a narrow heel profile. No more heel lift. My only issue now is the lacing system, worked great last season but now the laces don’t lock as well as they used to in the clips. Also, the pull tabs don’t sit in boot as well, and typically fall out after a lot of hiking.

Overall I never have an issue when snowboarding, but more annoyances when hiking and skinning all day. The laces need to be re-tied every time I’m ready to descend, which doesn’t sound like a big issue, but is a bit annoying as yet another step during transition.

I’m on the lookout for similar boots to Salomon that have a narrow profile, thinking a BOA system might be ideal for loosening and tightening inbetween tour and ride modes. Though I’m not familiar with K2 boots or Ride that often feature the BOA system.

Definitely tough to fit the needs for touring.. since snowboard boots aren’t meant for hiking. Watch out for materials on the side of the boot as well. My last two versions of Sparks tended to put holes in the side of my boots from rubbing in tour mode. My soft leather burtons were quite worn. The Salomon leather though only shows slight wear.

Are you really using crampons on your boots that often? I’d rather invest in ski crampons and think i’d use those most in icy conditions. I personally would never go to a mens boot considering the differences between mens/womens foot and calf profiles, especially since I have a more than typical narrow heel.

Hey tuff-enuff, I just saw the spark XV-TF in size 26, I’m not that familiar with these boots. Im not sure what the difference between the xvs and the xv or XV-TF is. But if you want to check it out, go to the main page of splitboard.com, then ‘shop’, ‘boots,’ then they are on the bottom of the page.

(I still think it would be good to try these on first, maybe you could try on a few other men’s boots just to see if men’s boots are going to work for you.)